Although the Spending Review announced yesterday (June 26) by Chancellor George Osborne provoked anger from public sector workers and other critics, business leaders and groups generally welcomed the plans but said they would have liked to have seen further cuts to public spending and a greater emphasis on infrastructure investment. Read more

Several newspapers and magazines have picked up on the fact that the European Commission has delayed, if not entirely shelved, the implementation of its proposed financial transaction tax (FTT) until the middle of 2014. Read more

A recent survey has found that the majority of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have no key worker protection in place, despite the death of a business owner being cited as the most disruptive threat a business can face. Read more

The latest survey on business optimism amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) shows that over 80 per cent are currently upbeat about the general state of their business, with the majority expecting growth over the coming year. Read more

The Telegraph reported yesterday (June 20) on how the owner of a small firm has recouped thousands of pounds from late-paying customers and that an appeal court victory he won earlier this year could pave the way for more small firms to fight late payers. Read more

The minutes of the Bank of England’s June Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) have been published, showing that the vote to keep interest rates at their historic low of 0.5 per cent was unanimous. Read more

Leaders of the G8 summit have agreed new measures to clamp down on corporate tax avoiders, tax evaders and money launderers by giving each other automatic access to information on their residents’ tax affairs. Read more

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), published today (June 18), showed a surprise rise in annual consumer price inflation (CPI) for May, up to 2.7 per cent from a surprise low of 2.4 per cent in April. Read more

As the G8 summit starts today (June 17) in Northern Ireland, the talks will be firmly based on ways of curbing tax avoidance globally, and in an interview with Sky News yesterday, Prime Minister David Cameron said that action will be taken to make a “real difference’ to the amount of tax paid by corporations. Read more

A leading think-tank, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research have suggested that after two years of stagnation, the UK economy is set to grow this year, after gathering pace over the last few months. Read more

Ahead of the G8 summit, where tax avoidance is likely to be a hot topic, results of a new poll have found that forty-percent of UK consumers would consider boycotting a company or brand, over claims of tax avoidance. Read more